Challenges ahead for displaced Afghan students
“As a volunteer mentor for students affected by the Syrian civil war, I’ve seen first-hand how displacement disrupts tertiary education”
One of the many developing tragedies of the Taliban’s swift takeover of Afghanistan is the loss of access to tertiary education for students displaced by the conflict, writes Boston area higher ed administrator and volunteer mentor for conflict-affected students, Abby Kawola.
Mass displacement of Afghan students – not to mention a potential return to education restrictions for women seen during Taliban rule of the 1990s – threaten to derail the dreams of the nearly 400,000 Afghans enrolled in tertiary education institutions across the country as of 2018. Like the ongoing conflicts in Syria and Venezuela, the current situation in Afghanistan highlights the need for the development of proactive rather than reactive support systems for tertiary education students impacted by displacement.